HHLA pushes ahead with electrification of its climate neutral terminal

German logistics and transportation company HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) has welcomed 16 battery-powered Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) in 2020.

With the delivery of the latest vehicle, the number of environmentally friendly vehicles now totals over 60 units. This means that two-thirds of the AGV fleet in use is already electrified.

By the end of 2022, all of the nearly 100 driverless container transporters are to be converted to the fast-charging battery drive.

This will result in an annual reduction in emissions of approximately 15,500 tonnes of CO₂ and around 118 tonnes of nitrogen oxide because the electric AGVs do not generate any local CO₂, nitrogen oxide or fine particulate matter emissions, the company estimates.

At CTA, the vehicles take over the automatic transport between container gantry cranes and the storage area.

In addition to the 16 new battery AGVs, six more energy charging stations were also put into operation in 2020. This brings the number of charging stations at CTA to 13, with five more to be added in 2021.

The vehicles independently drive to the charging stations as needed and recharge their batteries with green electricity.

Due to its high degree of automation and electrification, the CTA is now the world’s first container handling facility to be certified climate-neutral, according to HHLA. Terminal processes that still produce CO2 emissions today will be gradually electrified, or their transition to electrical power will be field-tested.

HHLA compensates for CO2 emissions that are still being generated through emissions reduction certificates, thereby supporting environmentally friendly projects.

The conversion of the AGV fleet at CTA, supported by Hamburg’s Ministry for Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture with support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the “Energiewende in Unternehmen” subsidy programme, is an important component of HHLA’s sustainability strategy.

The goal is to halve CO₂ emissions by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality across the Group by 2040.